Have you seen those TV ads where the little girl puts up posters for her lost puppy? Then some college dude wanders by, snaps a pic of the poster on his phone and sends it to all his friends? And they forward it to their contacts, until it reaches somebody who finds the critter and returns it to the girl?
I love those. I can totally see that happening. It’s a benevolent use of technology – facilitating easy yet meaningful kindness. (And as a technophile and optimist who loads his fiction with dire and doomful uses of technology, I’m a real sucker for things like that.)
Well, here’s a chance for you to help a human Cat, stranded in Germany by Expedia fuckery.
My friend, Midwestern SF and horror writer Elizabeth Donald, alerted me to the situation with this Tweet:
Anyone who’s got a few bucks, chip in at http://tinyurl.com/yjedqlm to help out @catvalente, who is stranded in Germany by Expedia.
The link takes you to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, an online novel by Catherynne M. Valente, our strandee. You can scroll down to the Donate button, or hit this link where it’s easier to find.
Please consider helping Ms. Valente out. It’s a brutal situation to be in.
I don’t personally know Cat Valente. We have a number of writer friends in common, who hold her in extremely high esteem. I figure: she’s one of us. The Great Science Fiction and Fantasy Extended Family. I wasn’t able to donate much to the cause. I’m doing what I can to spread the word.
Please think about doing likewise. It’s an easy good thing to do, spreading the word. In all truth I believe that in voluntary community lies the hope of our survival.
And please, don’t let me hear any more static about Twitter being useless. It can be a waste of time. I waste too much time there. But it has many powerful uses. This has been one.
Thanks!
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